A new shelter is being set up for elderly survivors of the sex trade in Mexico City, the Guardian reports today.

The site of the shelter is a grand, abandoned sports museums, which the local authorities are providing rent free. It’s being developed by a coalition of NGOs and local feminists, who have taken on the project as a personal cause.

Jo Tuckman interviewed some of the 120 elderly women who work the district, including Marilú Torres.

‘“This year is my golden anniversary as a sex worker,” laughed Marilú, who became a prostitute as a young widow with no other means of feeding her three children. “I’m not complaining, I’ve learned a lot about life in this job. But the old bones are turning to dust like the mummies, and it would be nice to be able to stop soon.”’

Posted by Jess McCabe on 27 April 2005, at 11:12 AM